In The Grim Dark Future There Is Only Nerf

For the past few months both Ken and I have been fairly immersed in the 41st millenium. It is a universe of militaristic science fiction were life is dark and the future outlook is grim, also know as "grimdark". It makes for a great setting for a tabletop wargame were everyone is constantly at each others throats, but it can get just a bit dull when delving into the background stories. That is were Sandy Mitchell comes in. He is the writer of the Ciaphas Cain series of books.


Cain is a Commissar in the Imperial Guard. Commissars are morale officers responsible for discipline. Most Commissars are only good at the discipline part of their job, killing anyone for the slightest infractions. Cain on the other hand is all about the morale bit, and shows quite a bit of concern for those under his charge. On the surface that is. In reality he shows that concern in order to get the troops on his side, mainly so he does not get shot in the back and has an abundance of human shields when it gets dicey. Through a combination of pure luck and a shrewd mind for saving his own ass, Cain has become a living legend.

The book series is a sort of memoir of Cain looking back on his numerous adventures. The series is a super fun read so far. They come at the world of Warhammer 40k from another perspective, one of a "normal" guy just trying to make it in "the grim dark future where there is only war". I would recommend picking up an omnibus or two if you are into Warhammer at all or have read any of the Black Library books. My only complaint is that Mr. Mitchell tends to use the defining characteristics of the characters pretty much every time he talks about them, and it gets just a bit tedious at times. It is a small complaint though and the comedy infused in the stories breaks up the drab grey of the dark future.
I would be remiss if I did not tell you that the title for the blog today comes from a quote of Ken's at a DragonCon one year. It was said as a group of folks dressed as what can only be described as post apocalyptic goths armed with bright and unpainted NERF guns walked by.


On another note, if you have not seen "The Muppets" you need to as soon as possible as it is fantastic.


Have you read the Ciaphas Cain books? Don't care about 40k and wish I had just done a review of "The Muppets"? Let Your F'ing Voice Be Heard in the comments or on our Facebook page.